SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
A Texas nurse was convicted Tuesday of capital murder in the deaths of four patients who died after prosecutors say he injected them with air following heart surgeries.
The Smith County jury deliberated for about an hour before finding William George Davis, of Hallsville, guilty of capital murder involving multiple victims. Prosecutors planned to seek the death penalty during the sentencing phase, which was scheduled to start Wednesday.
Davis, 37, was accused of injecting air into the four patients arteries after they underwent heart surgery at the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler in 2017 and 2018. During recovery from their surgeries, the four -- John Lafferty, Ronald Clark, Christopher Greenway and Joseph Kalina -- suffered unexplained neurological problems and died.
During the trial, Dr. William Yarbrough, a Dallas-area pulmonologist and professor of internal medicine, explained to the jury how injecting air into the arterial system of the brain causes brain injury and death.
Yarbrough said he was able to determine there was air in the arterial system of the victims brains by viewing images from brain scans -- something he said he had never before observed in his decades in medicine.
He ruled out blood pressure problems or any other causes of death besides the injection of air, and said it must have happened after the surgeries because the complications occurred while the patients were in recovery.
Defense attorney Phillip Hayes told the jury that the hospital had issues and that Davis was a scapegoat who was only charged because he was there when the deaths occurred.
Prosecutor Chris Gatewood said during closing arguments that Davis liked to kill people. And prosecutor Jacob Putman said the hospital hadnt changed any of its procedures and hadnt had any similar incidents since Davis left.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
11 pm |
| 18 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
WIND: ENE 13 KM/H
GUSTING TO 20 KM/H |
|
|
|
12 am |
| 18 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
WIND: E 11 KM/H
GUSTING TO 15 KM/H |
|
|
|
1 am |
| 17 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
WIND: E 12 KM/H
GUSTING TO 15 KM/H |
|
|
|
2 am |
| 17 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
WIND: ESE 11 KM/H
GUSTING TO 14 KM/H |
|
|
 |
3 am |
| 16 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: ESE 12 KM/H
GUSTING TO 18 KM/H |
|
|
|
4 am |
| 15 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: SE 11 KM/H
GUSTING TO 19 KM/H |
|
|
 |
5 am |
| 14 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: SE 11 KM/H
GUSTING TO 19 KM/H |
|
|
|
6 am |
| 15 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: SE 12 KM/H
GUSTING TO 23 KM/H |
|
|
|
 |
TODAY |
HIGH OF 25 ℃
LOW OF 16 ℃ |
| MODERATE RAIN |
|
|
 |
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 29 ℃
LOW OF 14 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
|
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 35 ℃
LOW OF 18 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
|
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 35 ℃
LOW OF 20 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 27 ℃
LOW OF 19 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
|
|
|
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 26 ℃
LOW OF 16 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
|
|
|
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 28 ℃
LOW OF 18 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 27 ℃
LOW OF 17 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
RAELYNN
HEAVEN IS A HONKY TONK
11:41 PM |
|
 |
HARDY
CAR THAT DROVE YOU AWAY
11:37 PM |
|
 |
JUSTIN MOORE
THAT WASNT JACK
11:34 PM |
|
 |
EASTON CORBIN
BABY BE MY LOVE SONG
11:31 PM |
|
 |
RANDY HOUSER
COUNTRY BACK
11:27 PM |
|
 |
RILEY GREEN
MAKE IT RAIN
11:23 PM |
|
 |
WALKER HAYES
90S COUNTRY
11:20 PM |
|
 |
SAM GROW
TWO SIDES
11:13 PM |
|
 |
GRANGER SMITH
COUNTRY AND YA KNOW IT
11:11 PM |
|
 |
RYAN HURD
LOVE IN A BAR
11:07 PM |
|
 
|
